Privacy control is one of the reasons that, for years, has led many users, some very notable, to move from WhatsApp to other instant messaging services for smartphones. And yes, it is true that for some years Meta seems to have taken this aspect of its service more seriously, with the addition of new functions from time to time in this regard, in a clear sign that they are aware of the trickle of users due to the Widespread perception that WhatsApp is a less secure service than others, such as Telegram and Signal.
Thus, when only a few weeks ago we knew of news in this regard, WABetaInfo tells us today another novelty, this one at the moment in the development phase, but which is expected to reach all the platforms on which the service is present. And it is also about a feature that has been in demand by users for a long timeso it is striking that the company has not decided to start working on it until now.
This novelty, which still has no scheduled arrival date (at least public, of course), will allow to hide our online status. And it is that although it is already possible to hide, for quite some time, the time/date of our last connection, the indicator that we are connected at that moment is still quite indiscreet, since it allows anyone to know, at a certain moment, if we are connected to WhatsApp.
As you can see in the image above, this function will allow us to choose between four options, the same with which we can select to share our last connection: everyone, your contacts, your contacts but with exceptions and nobody. Of course, if what we want is to make a selective adjustment of which contacts they will be able to see if we are online, at least in the current state of the function, the list of them will have to be the same one that we use to share our last connection.
Personally, I think it’s a great success. As I indicated at the beginning the demand for solutions that better protect our privacy is a growing trend, and one of the reasons why WhatsApp has seen many users leave. Any progress in this direction is a step in the right direction. Of course, that does not necessarily mean that the service will recover lost users for this reason, but at least it can mean that there are no more “low” in the future for this reason.
